Chapter 94
Chapter 94
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 94
Chapter Title: Aren't You Going to Move That Spoon? (1)
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HR, management, business, development, marketing, and so on.
A company is inherently a massive organization where various departments exist, collaborating to strive toward a common goal.
However, as is the way of the world, not all departments hold equal power.
Depending on the specific nature of each corporation—be it in finance, distribution, manufacturing, or communications—the importance of each department varies.
“Isn’t the development team the heart and soul of a game company? If you can’t make games, what else is there to do here?”
There was once a time when superior development talent was considered the most crucial asset in a game company.
A time when star developers emerged, and it was believed that as long as you had them, as long as you could create fun games with them, success was guaranteed.
But that world began to warp with the advent of the smartphone.
Smartphones offered vastly increased accessibility to the public, but they came with limitations and inconveniences in control.
This characteristic propelled so-called “idle games” to the forefront of the market, and people began playing games that were all similar, with only minor graphical changes.
The values of “fun” and “convenience” started to blur in the public consciousness, and as it became difficult to differentiate the games themselves, new business models were developed to earn more money from the same game.
And these circumstances gave birth to a disaster: the strengthening of the business division.
The power of this division, which had originally only handled support for non-gaming matters like media relations, corporate branding, and business planning, began to grow steadily.
Monetization strategies, business models, retention rates, and more.
The skills they possessed boosted game sales and caused the company’s stock to soar day by day.
“These days, the business division bastards have gone so far as to draw up the content plans themselves. The development team is just their lackeys, plain and simple.”
Ultimately, the scope of what game development could do shrank, and developers became puppets moving as the business division dictated.
They were companies that created content, yet the business division’s influence outweighed that of the actual creators.
In the process, the passion of developers who wanted to create genuinely fun games froze over, and one by one, they left the industry.
And their places were filled by fools who only spat out the word “yes” to whatever the business division ordered.
A deformed place filled with developers who didn’t think, didn’t resist, and obediently created whatever they were told, viewing themselves as little more than employees of a subcontractor for the business division.
This was the current state of the Korean game industry.
“How in the world can we put those bastards from the business division in their place?”
“That’s obvious. You just have to make a successful game without their influence. But is that easy? Success is hard enough, and these days, it’s rare to even find a company that will attempt such a project.”
“So what do we do?”
“Damn it. If you don’t like it, you quit. What else can you do? I’m just going to quit and open a chicken joint as soon as I get this year’s company-wide incentive. I don’t even know what masterpiece I thought I was going to make, sticking around in this industry.”
If one were to ask how to escape this situation, the answer was simple.
Make a game succeed without significant influence from the business division.
This simple phrase had become a true pipe dream in the current market.
But at NB Soft, this was actually happening.
The massive success of a game called *Pass On Dream*—a game that had received almost no support from the business division.
This situation was creating cracks within the business division, which had maintained its power through inertia and without much effort.
And so.
‘Why would that guy want to see me all of a sudden?’
Director Jeong, the head of that very division, was waiting for someone with an anxious heart.
That someone was the PD of *POD*, Jo Hyunsoo.
The reckless brat who had unceremoniously smacked away their hands every time the business division tried to get a piece of the pie.
The fact that such a person was suddenly seeking him out gave Director Jeong much to think about.
But a person’s thoughts rarely deviate far from their usual patterns.
‘Now that the game’s a success, he must want to make it even bigger. He sure played hard to get, only to end up coming to me like this.’
Director Jeong had never liked Jo Hyunsoo, who was disobedient to the business division and always did as he pleased.
Even Seo Donghyuk, the most powerful man in the company, was desperate to maintain a good relationship with the business division, yet that punk had always been a thorn in his side.
He assumed that the arrogant Jo Hyunsoo, now that his game was a hit, wanted to borrow their power to increase its revenue even further.
Money, money, money. No matter how much they pretended to be all about game development, people tended to get honest when they saw the numbers rolling in front of their eyes.
But a moment later, when PD Jo Hyunsoo arrived at the office, he shattered Director Jeong’s expectations.
“Please take down all of Head of Division Seo Donghyuk’s interviews related to *POD*.”
“What? I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
“Managing public relations and handling reporters are all under the business division’s jurisdiction, as I understand it. In reality, Head of Division Seo Donghyuk played no substantial role in the development of *POD*, and most of the content in those articles is greatly exaggerated, so you need to address it.”
“Hah, so you’re telling our business division to clean up your mess?”
“That’s a harsh way to put it. How is doing one’s job cleaning up a mess? Or is it… that your division simply slacks off on any work you can’t stick your spoon into?”
“You little shit… Did you just say ‘spoon’, PD Jo Hyunsoo?”
Director Jeong’s brow furrowed sharply.
He was annoyed by this greenhorn, a good twenty years his junior, acting so cocky just because he had one hit game.
Moreover.
“Oh, were you offended? If so, you can start reflecting on it now.”
But Jo Hyunsoo showed not a hint of remorse.
“We can’t do it. No, we won’t. In the first place, Head of Division Seo’s interviews don’t contain anything significant enough to harm the company. If we stir things up over this and it becomes an issue, you’ll be the only one who loses. If things go wrong, it could even affect the game’s sales.”
“Did I ask you to start a mud-slinging match by making it an issue? Well, if you want, we could go that route. We could paint a pretty picture where Head of Division Seo Donghyuk is trying to steal our team’s credit, and this whole mess happened because the business division isn’t doing its job.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Not at all. I’m just talking about the reality of the situation.”
Right after, Jo Hyunsoo suddenly placed his smartphone on the table and pressed the play button.
As Director Jeong blinked, wondering what this was all about, a familiar voice suddenly flowed from the phone.
[So, you’re saying Head of Division Seo Donghyuk told you to spread false rumors on Blind to keep PD Jo Hyunsoo in check?]
[I’m telling you, that’s what happened. Ugh, I’m so nervous I could die, getting mixed up in this. I just did what I was told from above, but now things are getting weird.]
[And Director Jeong hasn’t said anything?]
[Said anything? He’s in on it with Seo Donghyuk. A big reason Seo Donghyuk got to where he is was because the business division backed him up. They’re practically joined at the hip. That’s why they’ve teamed up to take down Jo Hyunsoo. My friend, I’m starting to feel pathetic, wondering if this is why I joined the business division.]
As the recording played, Director Jeong’s expression slowly filled with alarm.
“Wh-where did you get this?”
At that, Jo Hyunsoo smirked and said.
“Well, I’m under no obligation to answer that for you. Besides this, I also have some data I’ve collected over several months of monitoring Blind. A few specific IDs have been taking turns slandering and defaming our team. I’m thinking of requesting an investigation into the matter.”
“A-are you crazy! What do you think you’re doing, PD Jo Hyunsoo!”
“Who knows? Reclaiming the rightful dues for me and my team members?”
*I’m screwed. He knew everything.*
Cold sweat beaded on Director Jeong’s wrinkled forehead.
‘Dammit.’
After the lucky success of *League of War*, a series of new titles had failed.
The Phoenix Team, which the business division and Seo Donghyuk had discarded, had scored a moderate hit under Division 5.
And Jo Hyunsoo’s *POD* had become an unprecedented mega-hit for a console game.
All without much help from the business division.
This combination of events had started to crack the foundation of the business division, which they had thought was rock-solid.
“Director Jeong. Don’t you think there’s a problem with the business division lately? Seeing PD Jo Hyunsoo launch a game like that with just 100 million won, I think you need to do some self-reflection.”
Just a few days ago, President Oh Geoshin had summoned him and said those very words.
He had phrased it delicately, but it was essentially a reprimand of the business division.
In such a situation, what if Jo Hyunsoo blew the lid off this?
‘It’s a nuke. Where would we even begin to cut our losses?’
The business division, which was supposed to support the company’s games to achieve the best results, had instead engaged in sabotage during the development process.
This was an absurd situation, something that should never have happened.
The trust in the business division, already plummeting, would be sent to another dimension.
“Let’s calm down a bit, PD Jo Hyunsoo. It seems there was some misconduct by a few employees. I will take care of such problems.”
“Oh, save it. An investigation will reveal whether it was the misconduct of a few or not.”
He tried to draw a line, but Jo Hyunsoo, seeing right through his scheme, cut in without hesitation.
He knew it too.
Even if this incident blew up and negatively affected *POD*’s sales, Seo Donghyuk and Director Jeong would suffer a far more catastrophic blow.
In the strange madness he saw in Jo Hyunsoo’s eyes, Director Jeong was tasting a fear he had never felt in his entire corporate life.
“To prevent that from happening, what do you want me to do?”
“That’s why I came prepared. So kind of me, right? This just shows how much I want to get along with you, Director Jeong.”
Jo Hyunsoo showed him the notes he had prepared on his smartphone.
Director Jeong squinted and slowly read the contents.
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1. Take down all of Head of Division Seo Donghyuk’s interviews related to *POD*.
└ Subsequently renegotiate with the relevant webzines to replace them with interviews from Head of Division Shin Chihwan.
2. When issuing press releases related to *POD*, they must be approved by the Head of Division 5.
3. Do not interfere in any way with the Christian Team’s business model or game development content.
└ The same applies to all business aspects, including secondary content using the IP.
4. Allocate an additional 3 billion won to the business division’s marketing budget. However, the marketing content must be approved by Division 5.
5. Do not issue press releases that misleadingly portray the business division or other support staff as the main drivers of game development, rather than the development team.
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“What kind of absurd demands are these? Are we your supporters now?”
To Director Jeong, these conditions were utterly ridiculous.
They were tantamount to telling the business division to act as a support unit for Division 5.
At this, Jo Hyunsoo scratched the back of his head and said.
“Isn’t the business division supposed to be a supporter of the development team? Handling everything else rationally so the development team can focus solely on making the game. I think that’s what the business division is supposed to do, isn’t it? And besides, I’m letting you stick your spoon in, just like you wanted. I’m letting you burn 3 billion won on marketing. Of course, you’ll need our 100% confirmation on everything! If it’s not up to snuff, I’m planning to scrap the whole thing. What do you say? Will you accept the terms?”
Accepting these terms meant the final decision-making power would shift to the development team.
It meant surrendering all the power the business division had enjoyed until now.
But rejecting them could lead to the entire business division being shattered.
‘It’s fine. If it’s just for Division 5, only Division 5, then it won’t be a huge problem.’
Director Jeong stroked his chin for a long time with a grave expression before reluctantly opening his mouth.
“Fine. I’ll accept these terms. In return, you’d better not breathe a word of this.”
“No need to act tough, Director Jeong. After all, I’m the only one holding a loaded gun.”
At that moment, Director Jeong had no idea.
He didn’t know that the choice he made today would be the first step in dragging the power of the business division, which he had wielded at will, down into the abyss.